Islamabad's irony: Pakistan mirrors India amid tense border clashes with Afghanistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan are witnessing one of their worst border clashes in years amid heavy exchange of fire from both sides following Islamabad's red line on terror attacks from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

On Wednesday, more than 12 civilians were killed in Afghanistan after fresh fighting broke out between forces from both the sides. The latest incident ruptured a fragile peace that had briefly taken hold after weekend clashes between the countries killed dozens.

Rising terror attacks from TTP, which is also known as Pakistan Taliban, has been the major flashpoint between the two countries.

There has been a marked surge in deadly TTP attacks across Pakistan in recent months, with militants targeting markets, mosques, airports, military bases, police stations and also gaining territory - mostly along the border with Afghanistan.

Islamabad has claimed that the TTP's leadership and many of its fighters are based in Afghanistan, a charge denied by the Taliban administration.

The rise in attacks and the inaction by the Taliban to rein in TTP forced Pakistan to finally draw a red line on terror - an ironic reaction by a country that is playing the victim on end of the border but is the perpetrator on the other.

According to a report in Al Jazeera, Pakistan's aggressive approach towards Afghanistan is a conscious call to establish a "new normal" with the Taliban. The report said that Pakistan is making it clear to the Taliban that future attacks on its soil will invite retribution.

The position by Islamabad is exactly the same that India has adopted when it comes to dealing with terror attacks from outfits based in Pakistan. After the deadly Pahalgam attack of April 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that any terror attack on Indian soil will be considered an act of war, prompting New Delhi to give a befitting reply.

While Pakistan cried foul over India's new unequivocal doctrine, it is now adopting the same stance after finding itself on the receiving end of terror.

Abdul Basit, a research fellow at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told Al Jazeera that Pakistan's new approach mirrors what India adopted against Islamabad after the Pahalgam attack.

However, he added that the only key difference in the situation is that the military asymmetry between Afghanistan and Pakistan is significant, unline the scenario between India and Pakistan.

Moreover, Pakistan now finds itself facing the same indifference over cross-border terror attacks from Afghan soil that India has long encountered from Islamabad.

For years, Pakistan dismissed New Delhi’s allegations, demanding “evidence” and denying the presence of terror outfits on its territory — a stance now mirrored by Kabul, which insists it is not allowing the TTP to operate from within Afghanistan.

The irony here is hard to miss.